Cali -- Buga

met amigo herman this morning at 5am for a ride. borrowed his bike and donned a new kit i bought here for cheap. headed up a 28km climb, 3500' to summit at 6600', and back to the shop by 0730. there were well over 100 riders out there today. felt a bit rough after yesterday afternoons 80-km ride which included a shorter but much steeper climb.

my plan is this: leaving later this morning for cafetera region (near cities armenia and manizales) where i will spend a week riding/traveling, and then i'll be busing it back here to cali for a road race next sunday. herman has apparently set me up with a super sweet bike that belongs to a friend and he already told me he expects a victory: thats bold. its a masters 30+ race with 80-100 in the field.

FunRide: 55-km, 1:45, 3100' gain.

(written later in Filandia, 4/04)
back at La Iguana i packed the gear, paid my bill, said my goodbyes and then got sidetracked in a big footie game: Real Madrid vs Barcelona. had a beer with the gang (a gang) and the afternoon slipped away. i wondered if i'd even leave on this day... was enjoying the place and was still really tired from my big morning ride, and besides, its hard to leave a place once you've put down some roots and grown comfortable... life back out on the road seems daunting again and the effort seems wearysome, but at 3pm i made my break (and for this i'm proud of myself, i could easily have stuck around another night). 5-minutes later, cruising through the city the grogginess of being stagnant for too long wore off and the energy and vibrancy of life on the road returned. i felt the freedom and independence of life on the bike even while finding my way out of town on streets i already knew: its a great feeling to break those bonds of comfort and to be heading back out into the unknown and back off the map.

at this moment my plan was to save a day or two of riding and get straight into the heart of "cafetera" by taking a bus to Armenia. as usual i didn't feel like a bus just then and thought i'd catch the bus from the road instead of the station. the road was flat and fast and i just kept rolling on... Palmira, Chipa, then a couple other small villages, and then sun started getting lower. a guy on a motorcycle pulled up along side and started chatting, and he was worried about where i would stay. Buga was too far, 40-km more, and it was almost dark so i should stay in the next village 10-km away. he pulled in behind me and followed me the whole way and i cranked it up to over 30-kph. when we got to his village he made sure i was checking in at a hotel before he left me. i humored him and inquired, but as soon as we said goodbye and he motored away i headed back out to the road and started off again.

i felt good and decided i'd go for Buga (Boogah). in the dark there is less traffic and as long as i can see the white line i'm good. the road feels fast in the dark, the legs strong, and the road is a different place... its quiet and the few things that you see seem so surreal... glimpses into lives within bamboo houses, stove fires burning, lights in the hills. sounds come to life and you hear the hum of your tires, croaking frogs, birds and buzzing insects. its cooled off, and riding at night without a shirt on is like skinny dipping: it feels free and refreshing.

i pulled into Buga after 7:30pm and immediately found the Bomberos. the commandant gave me the okay to set up my tent and i camped 20-meters from a busy road and 10 from the main gate that was equipped with a flashing siren every time it opened and closed: thank god for earplugs.

RealRide: 79-km, 3:08-hrs (1344-kms since Bogota).